PETA is now blaming autism on dairy consumption

Oh, for fuck's sake, PETA.

Just when I thought you were ready to start making smart and funny advertising, you pull more of this shit.

Their claim:

More research is needed, but scientific studies have shown that many autistic kids improve dramatically when put on a diet free of dairy foods. One study of 20 children found a major reduction in autistic behavior in kids who were put on a casein-free diet (casein is a component of cow’s milk). And another study done by researchers at the University of Rome showed a “marked improvement” in the behavior of autistic children who were taken off dairy products.

Freethoughtblogs.com says that these studies are actually the work of the Autism Research Institute, which is described thusly in Wikipedia:

Quackwatch includes the Autism Research Institute on its list of "Questionable Organizations".  It holds to the medically-discredited belief that autism is caused by vaccinations.It also suggests chelation therapy, a treatment which is dangerous enough to have caused multiple deaths.

PETA also manages to rely on anecdotes from people who are convinced their autistic children improved by eliminating dairy:

Then I realized that Miles’ ear infections had begun when he was 11 months old, just after we had switched him from soy formula to cow’s milk. He’d been on soy formula because my family was prone to allergies, and I’d read that soy might be better for him. I had breast-fed until he was 3 months old, but he didn’t tolerate breast milk very well—possibly because I was drinking lots of milk. There was nothing to lose, so I decided to eliminate all the dairy products from his diet. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Miles stopped screaming, he didn’t spend as much time repeating actions, and by the end of the first week, he pulled on my hand when he wanted to go downstairs. For the first time in months, he let his sister hold his hands to sing “Ring Around a Rosy.”

Sound familiar? It's the Jenny McCarthy School of Medical Research!

If PETA wants to promote a dairy-free diet because they don't believe animals should be forcibly milked for human sustenance, then why don't they just say that? Instead, they continue to make questionable health claims about diet.

Clearnet has pulled the billboard.

Thanks to Jerome for the tip.

Is this "You Retard" cap a simple case of awkward bilingualism?

If so, it's a very Canadian problem — and one that other brands would do well to learn from.

Global News reports that an Edmonton woman was shocked to see these words on the bottom of a cap she had just removed from a bottle of glacéau vitaminwater (a Coca-Cola product).

The woman, 32-year-old Blake Loates, says she was particularly outraged because her younger sister she has a younger sister lives with cerebral palsy and autism.

“We started wondering if it was a disgruntled employee who did that. And then, how did it get out of Coke’s factory?" she told reporters. "We were just really confused.”

Ms. Loates contacted her father in Tacoma, Washington. He immediately wrote an impassioned demand to Coca-Cola for the brand to apologize:

Imagine my surprise when I got this photo from my oldest daughter, Blake, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. You see, the “R” word is considered a swear word in out family. We don’t use it. We don’t tolerate others using it around us. We ARE over-sensitive but you would be too if you had Fiona for a daughter! 

I know you will likely blame this on some rogue employee at some distant bottling plant. Probably not even one of your employees. But you have invested billions in promoting your brand. (Heck, I’ve been drinking Coke products since I was nine and got my first paper route!) And this single action, this small word printed on the bottom of a Vitamin Water lid, discovered by my daughter in Canada, has inspired me to tell you just how much the “R” word hurts. How destructive it is. How caustic. How uninformed. How isolating. Like the “N” word.

Ms. Loates also shared the letter on Facebook, along with a picture of the cap and of her sister.

Coca-Cola did apologize, in an e-mail. But they also issued a statement claiming that the words were part of a promotion.

From Global:

“We started printing random English and French words under the caps of glacéau vitaminwater. The top word English, bottom word French. In this case, a French word, despite an innocent meaning in French, made the production list of words,” Shannon Denny, director of Brand Communications with Coca-Cola Canada, said in a written statement Wednesday. 

We sincerely apologize for having inadvertently offending anyone. We take every consumer concern very seriously. This is a genuine oversight in the review process. The mistake has been corrected and the words removed from all future production. 

We recognize now this word should be removed due to the English connotations and have taken immediate action to thoroughly investigate this matter. Again, this was a genuine oversight in the review process.”

As corporate apologies go, it's not bad. HuffPo says Coca-Cola  plans to suspend the promotion and will recall product to ensure all remaining "worded" caps have been destroyed.

However, a nice little donation to R-Word.org would have added more weight to it. After all, even an accidental mistake is an opportunity to show what you're made of.

(Thanks to Audra Williams for the tip.)

LEGO builds a fan for life

10-year-old LEGO fanatic James Groccia, who has Asperger syndrome, saved up his money for two years to buy the building set of his dreams. Unfortunately, by that time it was discontinued. So in September, he wrote a letter to corporate headquarters asking if they had any left.

Two weeks later, he received a typical customer service response, explaining that they had to retire old sets to make way for new ones. But then, as if by a miracle, James received a mysterious box in the mail...



It came with this letter:

Dear James, 

We are always thrilled to hear from our LEGO fans! You truly have a passion and joy for LEGO. I am amazed at how many sets you have at only ten years old! I am a very big LEGO fan myself and enjoy some of the same sets you do. We received your letter here in Consumer Services and were very touched by your determination. 

The Emerald Night Train is a wonderful set, so we can understand why it is your dream to own it. I commend your willpower and patience to save money for over two years just to purchase this set. It is very evident that no other set could make you happier. We can understand how disappointing it must have been to find it had been discontinued. Due to your passion for LEGO and your heart-warming letter, we knew we had to go above and beyond to help make this a reality. 

We have located an Emerald Night Train for you, James, and included it in this package! I am sure you will enjoy building it and cherish your time playing with the train. We are excited to know that we could help make this dream come true for you! Now there will be no more sadness or disappointment when you think about it ...just happiness! 

We hope you will continue to love to build and create with LEGO. Fans like you are why we are so lucky as a company. Who knows, maybe you will be working for The LEGO Group one day! You certainly have the heart and passion for our bricks to do so! Happy building, James! 

Sincerely, 

MeganConsumer Services Advisor

Nicely done.

Tip via Buzzfeed

"Overly Attached Girlfriend" uses internet fame for good

Earlier this year, a young woman who had made a rather bizarre and intense Justin Bieber fan video for an online contest found herself the latest victim of accidental internet fame.

According to Know Your Meme, it started when a Reddit user reposted the fan video as “Overly Attached Girlfriend,” which went viral along with the original upload. Within a day, a screencap from the video (above) became a popular image for captioning and sharing. The meme continued to grow, quickly, generating a parody Twitter account and a Tumblr.

Often, this kind of "fame" ends up embarrassing the original subject, who becomes a target of anonymous bullying in the form of parody. But not this time.

When 20-year-old Laina Walker was "outed" as the person who created the video, she took the opportunity to promote herself, on Twitter and YouTube, as the "real" Overly Attached Girlfriend. Sge now has 126,630 followers on Twitter and 273,245 subscribers on YouTube.

But this kind of fame is fleeting. Online memes are like grass fires: they start unexpectedly, spread rapidly, and soon burn out. Ms. Walker first tried posting new videos in the same style as her original one, but they were pretty contrived.

Now, however, the woman behind the meme has decided to do something worthwhile with her accidental internet celebrity: she's using it to raise funds and support for a good cause:



Her idea to take "dares" online, and fulfill them when a fundraising goal is reached is quite smart. It's high-engagement, and is very sharable. I think Ms. Walker has found her calling.

Her first beneficiary, Surf Camp, is a charity that brings students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families on a two-day field trip. The (under-construction) site explains, "In addition to ocean surfing, the goal of the camp curriculum is to improve social social skills and sensory motor development important for student achievement and active engagement in learning." Fundraising is being done through rally.org. So far, $15,877 has been raised towards their $50,000
goal.

Interesting how someone who could have been a target for bullies is trying to help people who are so often targeted for no other reason than their natural diferences. Good for her.